DNF at 29%.

Whatever funky reading slump I’m in needs to stop. I don’t think I’ve ever DNFed three books in a row before now.

I wasn’t the biggest fan of And I Darken, but the general consensus seems to be that the sequel is better. So I tried Now I Rise, and let me just say...it did not rise. It fell, and it fell flat. (I’ll show myself out.)

I was mildly curious about Lada’s side of the story, but Radu’s bored me. Although I didn’t read much of the story, what I did read felt so dramatic. Heterosexual love triangles have gotten worse over the years, but when two siblings are in love with the same person? Yikes. And when said siblings want/need the other for some reason but refuse to properly communicate? Double yikes.

I think the biggest issue for me, aside from my slump, was that I put this book off for too long. The first was an average read, and if I truly wanted to enjoy this, I probably should’ve read it sooner. I didn’t remember much of the first novel’s story, and even the queer content couldn’t keep me interested in Now I Rise. Hopefully White’s other, unrelated novels will better hold my attention.

Representation:
• Radu, one of the protagonists, is gay and Muslim.
• I believe a m/m romance occurs later in the novel.
• Various characters are POC and/or Muslim.
• There’s a side f/f romance.

CW: sexism, violence